A non-profit group has created a video game aimed at helping teens and young adults with cancer better understand their disease and how to fight it.

Starting May 1, anyone with cancer who wants the game – called Re-Mission – will be able to get it for free. HopeLab, the non-profit group that developed the game, is giving it away at re-mission.net.

Nearly 3,000 Canadians under the age of 30 are diagnosed every year with cancer. Yet many of them skip their cancer pills because the drugs can make them feel sick, cause hair to fall out or cause pimples.

If drugs aren't taken properly, it can potentially cause a relapse or hamper recovery, doctors say.

Ty Murray, who has leukemia, helped test the game. (CBC)

Game helped teen 'feel better about the challenges'

The video game is designed to educate the young patients about why it's important to take the medications on time and other scientific information, including how lymphoma cells crowd out healthy ones.

Ty Murray, a 15-year-old from Calgary who has leukemia, was among 400 young cancer patients who tested the game.

Scene from the video game Re-Mission.

Murray said his illness was discovered while he was on holiday.

"We were just vacationing, and I had a swollen foot and they said I had cancer."

He said the game strengthened his ability to cope with the disease.

"I feel better about the challenges that I'm facing."

The game stars Roxxi, a microscopic robot that roams the body blasting cancer with her sidekick, a holographic computer called Smitty who has all the answers.

It also tests a player's understanding of the disease.

In the trial, the teens who played Re-Mission tended to:

• Take their medication more regularly.
• Better understood why they needed to take the drugs.
• Showed more chemotherapy drugs in their bodies.

Murray said he is now doing better. "I'm glad that I'm in remission cause I can go into a school where all my friends are," he said.